


Stormy Weather

by Moontyger



Category: Namesake (Webcomic)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-16 00:25:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13042674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moontyger/pseuds/Moontyger
Summary: An unexpectedly rainy day gives Emma and Warrick a much-needed chance to talk.





	Stormy Weather

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gemkazoni](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gemkazoni/gifts).



_Note to self: rain in England in the winter is incredibly cold._ Emma had thought she’d dressed for the weather, but the wind cut right through her coat as though it didn’t exist and then, apparently not satisfied with that, it completed its mockery of her attempts to stay warm and dry by blowing enough rain under her umbrella that she was feeling damp and well on the way to soggy.

She was uncomfortable enough to mentally cancel her original plans in favor of seeking out the coffee shop in Alexandria for something to warm herself up while she tried to dry out a little. Nothing she’d been going to do was really that important; mostly, Emma had just invented an excuse to get out of Calliope for awhile. Too bad she hadn’t considered the weather first.

From the outside, the coffee shop windows seemed to glow with warmth and light, so inviting on this dreary, chill day that Emma couldn’t help but wonder if the effect was helped along by a little magic. She didn’t pause while she was wondering, however, instead she headed straight for the door, intent on her goal, minor though it was.

She didn’t look around to see if anyone she knew might be there either, not until she had her fingers wrapped around her blissfully warm cup and had taken her first sip. Once she did, however, Warrick wasn’t hard to spot – in fact, she was surprised she hadn’t noticed him from the start. He was seated right by the window, staring out with a woebegone expression. He didn’t appear to have noticed her at first, but he turned his head quickly enough when she approached that Emma knew he must have seen her arrival, even though he hadn't said anything. With the way he was staring out the window, it would have been hard for him to miss it.

“Warrick? What are you doing here?” Emma glanced out the window as well, and added another question, considering the weather. She wasn’t sure when the rain had started, but the village seemed entirely too wet for it to have been only a few minutes before she set out. “How long have you been here?”

“I was out with Selva when it started raining,” he explained. “We ducked in here to wait it out, but it hasn’t stopped. When she left, she said she was going to get help. I thought at first that she might have sent you.” He sighed and shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "This is why I hate going out."

“I haven’t seen her.” Although that might have been because she’d been doing her best to avoid other people. “I’m not sure how much help I can be, but I can at least keep you company for awhile.” Lately, Emma’s strengths seemed to involve a great deal of becoming angry and hitting things with her sword, but unless the rain transformed into some kind of monster, that seemed unlikely to help in this case. She was actually sort of grateful that this didn't involve that, except for the fact that it meant she couldn't actually do anything to help at all.

She was careful as she sat by him not to drip on Warrick, scooting the chair back a bit to maintain a safe distance and setting her umbrella as far away from him as possible. Emma didn’t even consider offering it to him; she’d gotten wet enough on her way here that she knew it wouldn’t begin to be enough protection.

She’d offered her company, but once she was seated, Emma wasn’t sure what to say. Things had been awkward between her and Warrick since she’d told everyone what his mother had explained to her. They needed to talk about it, but this didn’t seem the time or place, and anyway, what could she possibly say? Emma hadn’t asked for his heart and she couldn’t just offer to give it back – she didn’t know how to do such a thing, nor what it would do to her if she found out and succeeded in doing it. And she didn’t know how Warrick felt about it, not really, though she hadn’t been able to forget what Wendy had said: _It’s hard to learn you’re spell food._ In the face of something like that, especially considering what that spell had done to him, what could she possibly say to make it even a little bit better?

 _Stop thinking about that now, Emma!_ She’d already spent far too much time thinking about it; doing it in Warrick’s presence was only going to make things between them more difficult. Emma asked the first thing that came to mind that didn’t seem to have anything to do with the elephant in the room. “What were you and Selva doing?”

Warrick sighed and rolled his eyes. “She has a date with Alice and wanted to buy something new for it.”

Emma gave him a doubtful look. “And she wanted you along for that?” Even allowing for his not being from Earth, Warrick wasn’t known for his sense of fashion. (For that matter, neither was Emma.) And Selva was more than capable of creating her own outfits; she didn’t need to buy them. No, if she’d taken Warrick, Selva had been up to something.

“I think she was hoping to use it as an excuse to buy me new clothes, too. Selva always liked dressing me.” And he, Emma suspected, had long tried to avoid it. Knowing Selva, his efforts most likely met with mixed success, though he didn't appear to have any bags with him this time. Maybe the rain interrupted them before Selva got her way.

Warrick frowned and looked out the window again while she sipped her coffee. Emma had noticed he did that, tried to look away from people drinking as much as he could manage, though whether to spare them or himself, she wasn’t sure. She looked out as well, but it was already dark enough that she couldn’t tell if she heard the rain less because it was slowing down or if it were merely less windy.

“She kept saying something about a double date,” Warrick mumbled, still staring out the window instead of looking at Emma.

Part of Emma leapt for joy, that heart that was only partly hers thrilled that he’d even mention something like that to her, but the rest of her just felt uncertain. She certainly hadn’t forgotten what he’d said - _If you want me, I’m yours_ \- but she just didn’t know if that applied anymore. What if he’d changed his mind, or decided everything between them was just the side effects of his spell?

“That sounds like Selva,” she finally said. It was the most neutral statement that she could make on the subject. It even had the benefit of being true.

“But we haven’t had a chance to do anything like that,” Warrick continued, as though he hadn’t noticed Emma avoiding the subject. “I don’t want to take my sister along.”

Emma turned to stare at him, eyes wide. Mouth, too, until she remembered to shut it, which luckily didn’t take long. “I thought you might have changed your mind.”

“The situation isn't great and I’m still getting used to it, but it hasn’t changed how I feel.” He paused a moment and looked away before he continued. "I wouldn't blame you if you had changed your mind."

“Oh.” Sometimes you could really tell that it was Elaine who was the writer and not Emma. Elaine probably could have come up with a better reply than that, something eloquent and fitting. Emma, though, she was all about actions, so instead of saying something, she reached over and took Warrick’s hand. “I haven't. And I’d love to go on a date with you.” Emma wasn’t sure where they could really go or what they’d do, considering Warrick’s curse and the fact that she still didn’t entirely trust herself not to explode or something, but she didn’t worry about that too much. They’d gotten this far and through things far worse than just a date; they could figure it out.


End file.
